Cadian Shock Troopers: Woodland Camouflage Pattern (Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum)

Once a mighty Imperial Fortress World located near the Eye of Terror, Cadia is the home world of the Cadian Shock Troopers; Imperial Guard regiments renown for their disciple and devotion to the God-Emperor. The entire planet of Cadia was destroyed in the 13th Black Crusade; despite this, the ‘fighting spirit’ of the Cadian Shock Trooper still lives on through the 3 million Cadians who have fled their planet’s destruction.

Cadian Shock Troopers with lasguns (front)

Cadian Shock Troopers with lasguns (back)

Cadian Heavy Bolter Team (front)

Cadian Heavy Bolter Team (back)

The metal Cadian miniatures reminded me of the U.S. Army combat uniforms of the 1980s; as such, I painted this group of six miniatures in a four-colour woodland camouflage pattern, based on the U.S. Woodland camouflage pattern (the U.S. Woodland camouflage pattern was introduced to the U.S. military in 1981).  This collection of Cadian miniatures includes five guardsmen with lasguns and on one guardsman operating a heavy bolter.

The metal Cadian Shock Troopers were introduced in 1994, when Citadel Miniatures moved away from their generic Rogue Trader era Imperial Guard models, to Imperial Guardsmen themed around the specific home worlds they were recruited from.  The metal Cadian Shock Troopers were designed by Michael Perry; while the heavy bolter was designed by Norman Swales. 

For more images of these miniatures, please visit the Cadian Shock Troopers section of the Old Guard.

In a future post, I plan painting six metal Cadian miniatures in a tri-colour desert camouflage pattern.

Old Guard: An Astra Militarum/Imperial Guard Fan Site is a website dedicated to Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K miniatures, with a focus on the classic range of Imperial Guard models from the 1990s.